


Crowded Table

by Sundrangea



Category: Emelan - Tamora Pierce
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:36:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21812299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sundrangea/pseuds/Sundrangea
Summary: Tris knew the she was not ready to settle down. She had things to do. That did not mean that she could not dream about the house she would build and how she would turn it into a home.Based on the song "Crowded Table" by the Highwomen.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 27
Collections: Yuletide 2019





	Crowded Table

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ghostinthehouse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghostinthehouse/gifts).



Crowded Table

(Title and Text inspired by the Highwomen)

Tris had always felt inadequate. Never with her powers. No, they were flashy, bold and worked in whatever way she desired. It did not matter if it was war magic, scying the winds, bridge building, or simply controlling her body, her skills were unparalleled. But everything else? She struggled and she fully admitted it to herself. If she went to a mind healer, they would probably tell her that she never got over her family abandoning her and declaring her worthless. Out of her siblings, she was the only one willingly abandoned. Sandry and Daja’s parents died. Daja understood to an extent, but she had been welcomed back with opened arms. Briar never had any family. It is hard to understand that pain when you have never had a family to care for you.

So, she boxed it in. Hid. Yes, over the past decade she allowed certain people in. She did not make it easy for anyone to pass through her the carefully constructed walls to her thoughts and heart. But some people did. And they were the ones who mattered. Briar had rooted himself into her, Daja had forged, and Sandry had woven. Each had become a part of her. But she still remained alone at times.

She had to be independent. She had to be able to provide for herself. War magic brought her no joy, and she was not willing to sacrifice her dignity, self-worth and inner peace for riches and position. A part of her wished that she could, but no, Tris knew her limit. She would not cross that line. So, she needed a new path. It was different that the one that her siblings took. She knew that they did not approve of Lightsbridge, but she did not have the forge or gardening talents to create works of art that could sustain a proper living. She was not the niece and someday heir of a Duke. She wanted to practice quiet magic, where people would seek her out for simplicity, and she could have a home that was hers.

A home of her own.

But not only hers. Theirs. Her and her family.

Tris knew the she was not ready to settle down. She had things to do. That did not mean that she could not dream about the house she would build and how she would turn it into a home. 

This home would be gorgeous. It would be on the coast, so she could run down to the sea and let her magic fly. There would be guest rooms, each created specifically for her family. Daja and Briar would have rooms on the first floor, so that they could easily run to work. Briar’s plants would grow around the house, claiming space. Daja would create things that would make her life easier. Sandry on the second with her loom all set up. It would be a place to escape when the duties of being a Ditches became too large. She would be in the attic where she could hear the comings and goings of those the wind sent to her. There would be windows and it would be bright and airy.

She would have a library, filled with hundreds of texts on every subject imaginable. The classics, obviously, but also any book that caught her eye. The bookshelves would sit along the walls. The books would be coordinated by topic and color coded. There would be a large rug, soft enough to lay on. A fireplace to keep her warm. A comfortable sitting chair, probably plump and red, so soft that someone could easily fall asleep in it. Throw pillows and blankets would be within grabbing distance. Stained glass art for windows. There would be a writing desk on the far left. It would be sturdy, strong, spelled only to open when she put her hands on it. Pens spelled to write her thoughts as she spoke them out loud. Proper paper that was heavy and could bear the weight of the enchantments she cast.

She and Daja had would collaborate to create a contraption that allowed a flame to burn outside in any kind of weather. Daja would create a metal frame so the living fire would shine outside of the home. It would be a sign of peace and a light to guide her family home as they took on the world and would be a symbol that there would always be somewhere to return to.

There would be a kitchen and a laboratory for spells and medicines. Daja would provide the kitchen items, Briar would make sure that her lab had all the plants she needed. Sandry would send tablecloths, ones that would never stain. Knowing her, she would also send curtains. Ones that would have magic woven throughout to change colors with the seasons. She would have a loom set up in the living room. Tris would commission a wood mage to create a chair for her. One that would always be warm and would shrink or enlarge depending on the project.

The kitchen would be filled with light, sweet treats cooked often. The doors would stay open, so Chime could spin through the house, unencumbered. The house would have a crowded table and a place by the fire for all of them. They would slowly bring more and more people in, be it apprentices, children or partners. Lark, Rosethorn and Niko would visit. The Duke would send a housewarming gift that would be extremely expensive.

Briar would build a garden, plant happiness and Evvy would move the rocks and create sculptures. They would harvest and bring it into the kitchen. They would eat and laugh. Everyone would have a place. No one would be forgotten or discarded.

But the house was not ready to be built. She had to finish her education. Those quiet dreams had to be kept to herself. There were still adventures to be had. Places to see. Magic to understand. People to find. They four had taken the world on and they had won. In a few years, they would have a place to come back to, pictures framed on the wall, illustrating moments where they grew. They might have been broken and abandoned, but they were not lost. Not anymore. They belonged. They belonged together sitting at a crowded table, with food, drink, merriment and love.

She could not think of anything better.


End file.
